In early 2013, Blackberry began to develop a new smartphone market with touchscreens. And when the hype around the new Z10 subsided, the manufacturer released the Blackberry Q10, which returned to the area where the former RIM steadily holds the lead - smartphones with a keyboard.
Both models are designed for wealthy buyers. So, the Blackberry Q10 will cost at least 12-15 thousand rubles., Depending on the additional services, the price can rise up to 20 thousand. For laser engraving of the Russian-language keyboard, you will have to pay about 5 thousand rubles.
What does the Blackberry Q10 boast? The review will tell you in detail about its characteristics, interface features and user opinions.
Appearance
The smartphone replaced the somewhat outdated Bold 9900 and Bold 9790 models, which did not get much popularity.
It is made in the traditional brand design.
As a matter of fact, an inattentive look will completely take him for the Bold 9900. But still, fundamentally new changes in the appearance have occurred with the Blackberry Q10 - the keyboard has become flat, instead of rounded. Between the rows of buttons there are protruding metal strips that make it easy to find them blindly.
Despite the fact that the smartphone has a full QWERTY-keyboard, it can not be called huge. Its dimensions are 12x6.7x1 cm. Its weight is also small - 139 g. Unlike its relative Z10, the back of the Blackberry Q10 is made of carbon fiber with a beautiful pattern (the rest of the case is made of plastic). The material looks solid and strict, it is quite difficult, but it can be scratched.
One metal strip is akin to the fact that the buttons on the keyboard are shared; it is present on the back of the case. It separates the camera and flash, thereby lifting them and protecting them from scratches.
The part of the body below the strip is very easily removed by sliding down. The microSIM slot “hid” behind the battery, but the place for the microSD-card does not require interference with the power of the smartphone and is located to the right of the battery.
The manufacturer took into account user dissatisfaction caused by the location of the headphone jack on the side of the case, and moved it to the upper end. There is also a metal button to unlock the smartphone, which is easy and convenient to press.
On the right on the case are three buttons - volume control and voice control activation.
On the left are microUSB and microHDMI ports for connecting a smartphone to a computer, TV and even a projector.
Equipment
Here's what comes in the standard kit when purchasing a Blackberry Q10:
- instruction in Russian;
- smartphone itself;
- Charger;
- battery;
- microUSB cable;
- headphones.
Specifications
The smartphone has a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 2 GB of RAM. This is more than enough to solve most everyday tasks, so most often the smartphone works quickly and without freezing.
The model has 16 GB of internal memory, of which 5.5 GB are occupied by the operating system and other system files. Also, the Blackberry Q10 phone supports microSD cards up to 32 GB. Total, you can increase the available memory of the smartphone to 42.5 GB.
Interface
This model, like the Z10, supports the BlackBerry 10 operating system. Moreover, it even received its first update - 10.1 (10.1.0.238 to be more precise). The release of this operating system was expected and necessary, since BlackBerry 7 began to lose very much iOS 6, Android Jelly Bean and Windows Phone 8.
Since the Z10 got this OS first, it seems that it is designed for a larger screen. Of course, this does not mean that the information is ugly compressed / stretched, but not all the necessary icons are simultaneously placed on the display and often you have to resort to scrolling. But the smartphone copes with flipping through, without freezing in the process.
More demanding tasks such as new games or loading maps make him think, but the process does not drag on for long.
The start screen shows all the necessary information: time, date, nearest notes from the calendar, missed calls, SMS, even alerts from social networks.
The Blackberry Q10 has a short menu that can be called up by “pulling” a shortcut from the top of the screen (like Android devices). It gives access to settings, turn on / off Wi-fi and Bluetooth, an alarm clock and adjust the ringtone volume.
Using the BlackBerry Balance settings, the workspace is divided into 2 parts - corporate, to which the employing company has access, and personal - in which only the smartphone owner controls.
However, after the OS 10.1 update is released, the employer has the opportunity to completely block the device if it considers that there is secret information on it.
Keyboard
Without a separate mention of this characteristic Blackberry Q10 review will be incomplete. After all, it is the main competitive advantage of this model, for which users are ready to exchange large 5-7-inch screens of touch smartphones.
The manufacturer expanded the keyboard a bit, which made the buttons a little larger, but, of course, affected the overall size of the model. Therefore, you will have to hold the smartphone with both hands and use both thumbs to get a good print speed.
Symbols are located in the same way as on a regular computer keyboard, each key has a beveled edge. In combination with metal strips, separators, this allows them to be easily distinguished and not to be mistaken when printing.
But this is not all that the manufacturer tried to make life easier for the user. The Blackberry Q10 has an updated dictionary and word prediction system that analyzes which words and phrases you most often use and changes its proposed options according to these data.
Screen
For phones with a full keyboard, this is usually a sore point. Since it occupies half the body, in this regard, they can not compete with fully sensory giants.
The Blackberry Q10 mobile phone has a large, by the standards of keyboard models, Super AMOLED screen - 3.1 inches diagonally, resolution 720x720 pixels with a sharpness of 330 pixels per inch. But compared to the bestsellers of other manufacturers, it seems unusually small and too square.
If you set the maximum brightness settings, it is convenient to work with the screen even in sunlight.
How long does the battery last?
The smartphone is powered by a 2100mAh battery, which is even higher than that of its relative Z10 (1800 mA). The charge is spent sparingly and the Blackberry Q10 can last up to 2 days without recharging.
This sets it apart from its competitors. But we must not forget that a small screen and a weaker processor consume much less battery power, so this can hardly be considered such a great merit.
Photo and video
The main camera of the smartphone is 8 megapixels with LED flash, the front camera is 2 megapixels.
The application for working with them opens for about a second. Autofocus works well, but manual focus is somewhat difficult. The fact is that the entire area of the preview frame plays the role of the shutter button. Clicking in its area, you will take a picture. Therefore, to manually set the focus point, you need to use a drag gesture.
The settings buttons on the sides also need to be gently pressed, otherwise the phone will take pictures.
The good news is that the volume buttons duplicate the shutter function.
The smartphone offers to take photos with an aspect ratio of 16 to 9, 4 to 3, and 1 to 1. The latter option looks good on the Q10 square display, but it is strange to perceive on other widescreen devices.
The application offers 4 shooting scenarios and HDR mode. The latter significantly improves the quality of the result, making the colors more vibrant and crisp.
In general, the result of the camera can be quite good in normal lighting conditions, and in more difficult conditions, the quality noticeably loses to smartphones of the same release time - HTC One, Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung Galaxy S4.
What about shooting video? The main camera allows you to record in HD quality with a size of 1080 pixels, and the front - 720 pixels. And although the result looks good on the smartphone itself, when played on other devices, it is not particularly impressive.
Customer opinion
The reviews on the Blackberry Q10 smartphone are pretty controversial. Mostly, the purchase was made by already held fans of the brand, accustomed to its features. Many liked the updated operating system and its new features, especially the innovative gesture control. But also a lot of users were disappointed that their usual options were lost.
Moreover, now many people have several smartphones and Blackberry does not always win in comparison:
- the number of applications caused by the uniqueness of the OS is very limited;
- there are no functions that have become standard - for example, you can connect a smartphone via Bluetooth to the car radio, but it will not be able to play music;
- a small screen of a non-standard size and, as a result, stripes along the edges of the screen when watching videos and in games.
The device responsible for removing the housing cover also raises complaints. Out of the box, it works fine, without backlashes, but it soon begins to wear out. There is a risk that when you take your smartphone out of tight jeans, the lid will remain in your pocket.
Most of all, customers like the keyboard, with which it is convenient to quickly type texts, a high level of data security, as well as the battery, which is guaranteed to hold a charge all working day. Therefore, many use this smartphone for doing business. But for personal purposes, options with Android or iOS are more convenient.
To summarize
Blackberry Q10, Z10, Z30 is an attempt by the Canadian brand to keep up with the times. However, they are still focused on fans of the brand. The main advantage of the Q10 is its keyboard. This is a smartphone for people who print a lot and are accustomed to the peculiar Blackberry operating system.
But if you don’t belong to them and are just looking for an option that will allow you to stay in touch and enjoy all the multimedia benefits of the Internet era, then the expensive Blackberry Q10 with its small screen and a limited number of applications is unlikely to suit you.